must have a key role in enforcing the libyan no-fly zone. in the libyan capital, they're picking up the pieces from another night of bombing. the struggle to cool down japan's stricken nuclear plant goes on. engineers are working to attach the power cables. welcome to bbc news. coming up later for you, seven years in jail, the former israeli president is imprisoned for rape. as britain readies for a royal wedding, we take a look at the dutch way of doing things. hello. despite the international air, a operations group

loyal to gaddafi are still on the ground. tripoli has been under sustained attack. an american fighter jet crashed with a mechanical fault in eastern libya. both pilots escaped but libyan officials insist the air strikes have killed dozens of civilians, something that it has been impossible for the bbc to verify. a report now from tripoli. >> last night, we heard the explosion that did this, the sudden metallic thud of the impact and the thunderous rumble of the blast. it is a repair workshop at a naval base on the tripoli shore. 19 hours after the blast, it was still smoking, the acrid stench of it catching in your throat. >> you can see from the signs of this crater how powerful it was. the explosion took out the whole of this very large marine warehouse, but there's no doubting that this was a military target. these are police ill transporters behind us, utterly destroyed, and behind them, missiles themselves. this is a military naval

facility. >> astonishing lig amid the wreckage, three missiles appeared to have survived just feet from the blast. one naval commander told me they were used for training and stored here for repair. we were ushered away by our minders. >> no missiles, no bombs, just workshop here. >> we found a second and a third crater, this one many times the size of the other two. this was a multiple missile strike. its target was clear. >> there is military equipment here. >> military equipment? >> military equipment. >> watt anybody killed here? >> no, no, no. >> combing the wreckage, we found the base commander. >> how do you feel about what has happened here? >> we are still standing.

we are feeling normal. we are ok. no problem. >> in the east, the air campaign had its first loss, a u.s. air force eagle jetfighter crashed in rebel territory. the alliance says it wasn't shot down but suffered mechanical failure. its two crewmen have been rescued. east of tripoli, the fight for control of the city goes on. rebel forces were enjoying a moment of celebration. then this. how quickly the moment turned to panic and retreat. >> the condition is so serious. since last night, they have no lights, electricity in the hospital. they're working with generators. yesterday it was disaster because more than 22 missiles. >> 1973 pact, no one to die. >> no one died last night.

the libyan government insists they will swear many civilians have been killed and wounded by allied strikes t might well be true. we have asked them for evidence. so far, they have not provided it. bbc news, tripoli. >> the american admiral leading the international operation to enforce the no-fly zone has said gaddafi loyalists are still attacking civilians and coalitions are considering options to stop that. on a diplomatic level, it is no clearer who will assume overall command n washington now, andrew north. why does it matter officially who is in charge? people must be wondering that. >> from the very beginning, the americans have been very keen to be seen to be taking part as this as part of a coalition. they do not want to be seen as leading it, but of course that is currently what is happening. they are providing most of the firepower, and it is

both the american general in germany and the american admiral out in the mediterranean who are actually kind of running the day-to-day operation. what they want, what the americans want is for nato to take over. president obama has been talking today to the british prime minister, david cameron, to his french counterpart, nicolaus sarcozy and they all agree nato should play a key role in taking over the command structure from the americans, but we still don't know what exactly that role will be. there is still a lot of division over this. frankly, the whole thing is still very confused. what we do know is the americans want to take that backseat. but then, if that does eventually happen, the americans are, in effect, under the control of some other structure. that could cause problems here as well, because traditionally the americans do not like the idea of their forces being under the command of foreigners, even nato allies. we have heard concerns about that being raised in the united states. this whole issue may rumble

on. >> at the moment, the operation doesn't seem to be achieving ith aim. it is quite serious near tripoli and if the libyan government is to be believed, civilians are being killed by these air strikes. >> that's right. in effect the americans are saying that despite these heavy attacks of cruise missiles, air strikes, they still are not able to enforce the terms of the u.n. security council resolution, just those narrow terms of protecting civilians because the attacks still go on, and of course, there is the bigger issue of well, what is the ultimate goal here? most people assume that given president obama called for colonel gaddafi to go that he is going to be the ultimate goal. that is the way that things are going to be judged, but at the moment, things are still very unclear, and also, of course, against the backdrop of questions over the support for the

operation. >> andrew, in washington, thank you very much. well, yemen's president has given the strongest indication yet that he is preparing to step down by the end of the year. he has warned yemen is collapsing into civil war. since the defection of several military commanders, tanks from rival factions have been on the streets of the capitol and now reports an air base to the west of the country which leads to the rebels. we report on the power struggle. >> the turning point after weeks of protest in yemen was the slaughter last friday. dozens were killed and hundreds more injured. the protests intensified and key backers of the long-term president, including tribal leaders an diplomats and most cabinet cabinets called for him to step down. who is he? he has been president more than 30 years, first in the north and then in a united yemen since 1990. he is now close to the end

of his second official term as elected president, elected in what were widely seen as rigged are polls after years when he had been appointed. he said last month that he would not seek re-election in an effort to stem the tide of protests. there have been attempts by his supporters to amend the constitution to allow him to serve a third term. there was speculation he was grooming his son ak med, currently commander of the republican guard, as his successor. yemen's security forces have been trained by the u.s. in this, the poorest country in the arab world, of major strategic significance because it faces the horn of africa across the gulf of aden. britain has increased its aid substantially to try to stabilize the country, but western criticism of the violence carried are out against protestors by the president's forces has been muted. that's because he's an ally against al qaeda and yes, ma'am subpoena the place

where al qaeda have their strongest base used to launch several recent attacks. >> the u.s. administration is taking a more cautious approach in yemen, because they're concerned about the presence of al qaeda inside yemen's borders and they're also concerned about protecting their relationships with the president's son and his nephew, who have been carrying out counterterrorism operations in partnership with american military colonels. >> the future of yemen hangs in the balance. these armored vehicles are planned by troops loyal to the president. he has appealed for unity, warning that a coup attempt would lead to a civil war. but in the center of town, troops who oppose him are holding the defense minute try and the central bank, as well as protecting the protestors still in the main square. the colonel in the rebel forces says he was opposing what he called a criminal regime. their commander is holding far while pressure is

putting pressure on the president to step down. >> the president of afghanistan, hamid karzai has named 7 areas where afghan troops will take over in july including three provinces and four cities, including the capital of the helmand province. this handoverrer is seen as a critical step in the transition of power before foreign troops end combat operations in 2014. israel has made a number of air attacks on the gaza strip. the health ministry says at least 17 were injured. many am hamas buildings were evacuated in anticipation of the military action. >> fire has broken out in egyptian interior ministry building in cairo. thick smoke was seen rising from the building shortly after thousand of policemen protested to demand better working conditions. the flames also spread to another building in the ministry complex. >> radiation is still

leaking from japan's fukushima nuclear plant, but scientists say they're unsure exactly where it's coming from. 12 days on, just over 9,000 people are known to have been killed by the earthquake and tsunami. at least 13,000, though, are still missing. 16 miles from the fukushima plant, many of the people have left and some may never return. >> a week ago, the streets were busy with traffic. now the lights still change, but no cars come. this is what it looks like inside the contamination zone. tens of thousands have fled, but many elderly can't or won't. in an old house, they find an old couple. the phone call is from their daughter. she wants them to leave. we're fine, he says. we have plenty of food. your mother is sleeping all

the time, and we still have plenty of sake. further on, along the tsunami smashed coast, teams in biohazard suits continue to search for the dead. it's another scene from a hollywood disaster movie, except this is real. in tokyo today, i met one of the elite team of firemen sent in to the fukushima plant last weekend to cool the reactors. one look at the reactor buildings and we knew the damage was much worse than we expected. we looked at the buildings and we were very scared. when i got back, my wife told me that after she dropped me at the station, she cried all the way home. i'm sure it was the same for all of my men. >> at a tokyo gymnasium, these are some of the new places for refugees, more than 100,000 still staying

in schools an gyms in japan. this family lives 6 miles from the nuclear plant. >> you can't see radiation, so we didn't feel any immediate danger. we thought we would go home soon, so we just packed up our clothes and left our dog tied up outside and left. that was a week ago. these people survived the earthquake and the tsunami only to be driven from their homes by the nuclear disaster. while the people who were directly hit by the tsunami will probably be able to go back and start rebuilding soon, the people here have no idea when they will be able to go home. >> in the contamination zone, people have ventured out to get food. these food drops are now their only source. this is a strange new way of life here, and no one knows how long it will go on. bbc news in tokyo. >> stay with us, if you can on bbc world news still to come, there is growing

evidence in india that a network in a series of terror attacks is blamed on muslim militants. first, though, fighting has intensified in ivory coast between supporters and opponents of their leader. hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by this conflict already, but still they come. city folk who never thought their lives in the ivory coast, once one of the richest countries in africa would come to this. this old man saw three days of shooting and fighting, and so he's leaving the city and returning to his native village. it is in flames because the incumbent leader refuses to leave office. everyone but his close associates says he lost last

november's elections. now his army and militia are under pressure from armed opponents and sanctions from the international community are lashing out. this woman paid for her ticket but said she was forced off the bus by his soldiers. according to her, they said they didn't want the world to know the population was fleeing. the election in ivory coast was closely monitored by the united nations. u.n. officials say they are sure he lost and should now resign. >> the people who run this bus station estimates there are around ten times more people arriving than in normal circumstances and some estimate that up to ten thousand people are arriving here every day, but the busses, when they go back, are empty. >> ordinary decent people's lives are being turned

upside-down in ivory coast as the rules of democracy haven't yet taken root here. bbc news, northern ivory coast. >> the latest headlines for you this hour on bbc world news, britain, france and the united states have agreed the nato military alliance ought to play a key role in enforcing the libyan no-fly zone. an aaircraft fire and loud explosions have been heard over tripoli. israel's former president has been jailed for 7 years for rape and other sex offenses. he was convicted at an earlier hearing of raping an employee in the 1990's when he was tourism minister and later sexual offenses while he was president. from jerusalem, bethany bell reports. >> for the first time, a former israeli president has been sentenced to jail.

he rose from a poor background in iran to become israel's head of state was once hailed as an example to disadvantaged jewish immigrants from the middle east. now he faces 7 years in prison. in december, he was found guilty of raping an employee when he was tourism minister in the 1990's. he was also convicted ofel other sexual offenses when he was president. handing down the sentence, the judges said no man is above the law. when he stepped down in 200 7, he initially agreed to plead guilty to sexual misconduct and avoid more serious charges. he later withdrew the plea bargain. the sentence has been welcomed by women's groups and by israel's prime minister who said it was an important day for israeli justice. >> this is a special day in the state of israel, a day of sadness and shame, but

also of deep appreciation and pride in the israeli justice system. the court ruled decisively on a simple principle. that principle is equality before the law. nobody stands above the law. >> he is not going to jail immediately. he has 45 days to appeal against the sentence. bbc news, jerusalem. >> president obama is cutting short his trip to latin america. he will leave wednesday morning, hours before he was due to. much of the visit has been overshadowed by developments in libya and they had to juggle the president's schedule to make time for briefings and conference calls with his national security team. there is growing evidence in india to suggest a network of radical hindus carried out a series of terror attacks blamed on muslim mill trants. a statement has been made before a court by a hindu holy man claiming responsibility. many of those allege to be

involved have ties to a hindu nationalist organization. this week the terror cases are drew to be headed over to india's federal investigative agencies. it's brought fresh hope to many muslims who have been arrested in connection with the attacks. >> a bustling being dominantly muslim town in western inya. four years ago, its tranquility was shattered by a massive attack. dozens were killed and many injured in the blast which came right in the middle of friday prayer. >> i was leading the prayers, and i just finished my sermon when three bombs went off within seconds of each other. there were bodies flying everywhere. >> most people here have been daunted from that traumatic day, but for some the agony continues. within weeks of the attack,

the police arrested nine local muslims and issued a special anti-terror alert. he was taken from here, his house. >> his father tells me -- >> he had nothing to do with the attack. he wasn't even there. >> his new brides has almost given up on her husband's are return, but now a dramatic development has changed everything. in a courtroom confession, this hindu holy man says he carried are out the blasts and three other attacks with a group of radical hindus. instead of is slammic terror, the authorities are being forced to look at hindu religion rouse groups, especially the hard liners which preach nationalism and have a powerful and committed grassroots following. this rally is aimed at increasing hindu rights and

bring in fresh recruits for their cause, where they are given martial-style training. the rss has close ties to the main opposition party, the bjp, making it an important influential force, but even though some of its members are now being questioned by the police, the organization dismisses any involvement. >> this conflict has been political. there is no such thing called hindu terror or anything like that. no such phenomena exists in india. >> but india has experienced hindu right wing violence before. in 2002, more than 1,000

people died, mostly muslim n every previous terror attack, suspicion invariably fell on india's muslims. now india has to confront this new hindu threat. bbc news, india. >> the build build-up to the wedding of prince william and kate middleton is very much underway. april 29, if it's not already in your diary. we have been spurred into looking more closely at monarchys around the globe. it seems times are changing for the dutch royal family. >> the dutch are a nation of cyclists, whatever else changes in this country, one thing remains the same and that is that people like to get around on two wheels. the royal family famously is no exception. >> three miles to school every day by bicycle, thousand of dutch girls do it and the two princesses -- >> the princess, now queen

beat terrorism, half a century ago, cycling to school like any dutch girl but do the royals still live up to the laid back image? these days they are more likely to travel with a motorcade like princess maxima, married to the heir of the dutch thone. already, she is the nation's most well loved royal. princess maxima, do you have a few words for the bbc? have you any advice for kate middleton? the young woman marrying into the british household? >> stay true to yourself, and, you know, this is a lovely job, and i really wish her the best. >> princess maxima does, indeed, seem to be very popular and open, but the dutch monarchy has recently introduced new rules restricting its interactions with the media, and as an institution, say royal watchers, it's becoming less accessible and more formal. >> queen bee terrorism

became -- beatrix became queen in 1980 and then moved to the political center of the country and wants dignity and respect. >> b exatrix's drive for greater reverence did not get off to an auspicious start. on the day of her coronation, there was rioting on the streets of as ter dam. groups of mostly left wing activists demanding jobs an housing while running in battles with the police. >> this youth movement you had at that time is now not existent anymore. the netherlands has turned into a more conservative right wing society. the position of the queen changed. she is now a more ceremonial position. >> the netherlands is less liberal than 30 years ago but also more prosperous and this change is reflected in people's attitudes towards their monarchy.

the dutch still love their bicycles. they seem like their royal to be a bit more regal and traditional. bbc news in amsterdam. >> to have more coverage of monarchys around the globe and the build-up to the royal wedding, go to our website. you will find all the latest news and analysis there as we get more hysterical about the big day. you will find us, too, on twitter and facebook, of course. just briefly, the main news, despite the international air and forces loyal to muammar gaddafi are still fighting on the ground in the rebel held city near tripoli. there has been sustained attacks there. an american fighter jet crashed with a mechanical fault in eastern libya. it seems both pilots escapes. libyan officials are still insisting the air strikes have killed dozens of civilians, something it has been impossible for the bbc to verify. thanks very much for

watching. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the stop stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news. funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont and honolulu, newman's own foundation, the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, and union bank. union bank has put its global expertise to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you?